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Topic: Nervous in Ohio (Read 8565 times)

Ok, so we are shooting for 2015- putting everything on the market in 2014, living in a small apartment when the brick and mortar sells, and then fulltiming beginning July 1, 2015. I will have retirement income of around 35K, no debt, but too young for medicaire. Is it realistic to think I can find work camping jobs that pay $500 - $1000 a month in addition to FHU? I keep telling pretty lady - if I can see that we can cover expenses and have enough left to not spend every day in financial panic (as we did 1st 20 years of career) I am ready to go. It's a fear thing - but we are both SOOOO ready to head out in the Winnie. We live simply- don't buy stuff - just like being in beautiful areas, outdoors, and meeting nice people-RV'ers of course. Can we make it fulltime financially?

Side note- see a lot of camps wanting camp management experience. Local KOA owner is a buddy - good idea to work for him as possible to get "experience" and be more marketable for a paid work camping position?

I would say chances are slim of finding such a great job position. A workamping job that pays more than minimum wage plus a FHU site would be a rare find. And jobs that pay more than minimum wage generally charge you for your site, though usually at the seasonal discount rate. To earn $35k, you have to have some specific job skills and a job that pays for those skills, whereas most workamping jobs are just general labor in a campground or seasonal business. What you are looking for is a real job that allows you to live in an RV, e.g. itinerant construction work, traveling nursing/medical worker, RV tech in seasonal areas, etc. Such jobs rarely provide a site as part of the employ - you find and rent your own place.

As Tom says, you can certainly live fulltime on $35k/year if you have no debt, but whether that will support your expected lifestyle is another question.

Hi Gary, I should have worded that differently. My retirement income will be 35K without work camping. I want to supplement that for 5 years, after which my retirement income jumps to 55K. I'm nervous about trying to make it on just 35K for 5 years with having to take on the cost of our own health insurance- we both have a few health issues typical for our age.

Thanks Tom. I've heard that you can carefully RV fulltime for about 50% of current living expenses, and 35K would be more than 50% of our current expenses. Is that a good estimate? I've read so many posts about the fear of taking that first step, and that is where we are, but we have 2 years before the house goes up for sale, so we have some time to plan.

If you do not make the attempt then the answer to all of your questions is automatically no.

Is it realistic to think that I can find work camping jobs that pay $500 - $1000 a month in addition to FHU? Yes it is. My lowest paid WK job was $525/mo only because it was a choice I made for being where I wanted to be. Do the math. Two people, just 20 hours/week at minimum wage equals more than $1K/mo.

If I can see that we can cover expenses... If you don't have sticks and bricks expenses, use someone else's utilities, and don't drive the rig everyday those would normally be limited to what you spend on entertainment and tourism - which you get to control.

Local KOA owner is a buddy - good idea to work for him as possible to get "experience"? Absolutely, if for no other reason than to have at least something on the resume when you start looking for WKing jobs.

Neither retirement nor going full time has to be your "final answer." You can change your mind if it doesn't work out.

Thanks Tom. I've heard that you can carefully RV fulltime for about 50% of current living expenses, and 35K would be more than 50% of our current expenses. Is that a good estimate? I've read so many posts about the fear of taking that first step, and that is where we are, but we have 2 years before the house goes up for sale, so we have some time to plan.

I live by myself and I have been a full timer for 9 years. Before SS kicked in I was living on $20k per year and doing fine. Now that SS and two more pensions have kicked in I am living on double that. I have no debts. I don't have medical insurance but I am living like a king.

Fear of the first step is a natural. Everyone gets it. But once you are living on the road full time those fears disappear real quickly. The freedom of the full time life style is wonderful. We have a gigantic country with thousands of great destinations. I think you idea of driving 100k miles in 5 years is way too much. There is no need to drive that much with proper planning.

RV parks charge by the day, week or month. A typical park is $40 a night, $200 a week and $500 a month. That would be a very nice park. As you can see if you stay every night in a different park it would be $2000 a month plus gas. If you stay in the same park for a month you have saved not only the $1500 in rent but the cost of gas moving around.

So you are in total control over how much you spend each month. I think with $35k per year for two people you will be living in luxury even considering health insurance. A whole bunch of full timers are living on a lot less.

I'm nervous about trying to make it on just 35K for 5 years with having to take on the cost of our own health insurance- we both have a few health issues typical for our age.

I would do some checking and getting quotes so that you know just exactly how much your medical insurance will cost you. We retired at 58 and had no medical issues. Our health insurance costs $12,000 per year with a $5,000 deductible. Health insurance keeps skyrocketing. I guess I'm a worry wart and would like to have backup funds for the unexpected. What happens if you have a major repair on the Winni? Will that come out of your $35K?

Another way to cut your expenses is to stay at least a month in one place, that way you get the reduced monthly campsite rate; but often have to pay for your own electricity.

Bringing in $35K a year with no debt shouldn't be a problem. Plus whatever you make workamping...you should be just fine. While both DH and I have a little income from retirement from the service we still have debt, new truck/trailer and one more year of school tuition for DS in military school. We are workamping this summer and hope to find work this winter ONLY because we still have a tuition bill this year. After that we feel in our situation (which is similar to yours) we will have no trouble living comfortably.

We are heading out this week full time and have tossed the money aspect over and over again...worrying and wondering. But the reality is that we know it will be ok...if we need more money, we can find more work. We are both young as well (late 30s, early 40s).

We have not found much in the way of workamper opportunities that pay REAL well, but between site and compensation, definately have found some comfort in making this work. We got picked up to work at a KOA this summer with no experience in KOA, so any opportunity you have to build your resume the better off in the long run.

This is what we did! we took out on the first trip to see what it would cost! well 1 trans and a few small repair's later we found that it is all in the planing we where down for repair's in a small town in IL and we went to a flea market to look around and then it hit us! WY can't we do this part time! so we took a few mo to watch and see what folk's we buying at all different market's we took that info and cleared out a large bay in the coach and there we where at our first flea market! we are now doing about two a mo and putting about 2k a mo in our pocket! just don't jump in head first make shure that what you sell is small and can be put out of the way and you no your product! we went with pet supplies and in time we where able to get some real good deals it takes time i wont matter what you like if it wont sell!! we put our whole biz in two side berth's folding table's and all two ez up top's and all inventory ( GOOD LUCK AND GO FOR IT )

just to compare , we are in Canada with a bit of property and manage to get by on our gov't pension just - less than 14k$- we never planned on retirement like typical hippies God supplies and the Bible commands us not to worry! I drive old vehicles [ have 75 motorcycle, 78 Dodge camper and 92 Jetta with 600000k's!] and recycle lots of stuff from the dump as well as sell some stuff- I am 72 and healthy psl and we are on holidays options where we live in the kootenays canada- I can park my rv near a secluded mountain stream or on a free beach with in 3 miles of where we live or daypark at nearby Kokanee Glacier Park beach- love it shalomJim

Living on 35k, not a problem, people live on a lot less full timing and staying in S&B, the main issue will be medical insurance. As others have said, you can cut costs by staying in one place for at least a month, by doing some volunteer work, etc. Do either of you have any marketable job skills that translate into online type of work? You have a couple of years to work on learning something that you can market online. I had a friend of mine retire from the military, he got his teachers credential, and teaches online, not getting rich, but he travels in his RV around the country, and coupled with his military retirement, he's doing just fine. Something to think about. Good luck, do your research, don't let the endless "what ifs" stop you.John

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John and PattiUS Army (Ret)91 Newel Bus #255Lifetime Member DAVLifetime Member VFW

I've been fulltiming for over 2 years with an erratic unstable income.

I can tell you right now that if I had 35K a year the past two years (70K) based on my past expenses and workamping (free rent, but no salary) I would still have 40K left in the bank. I keep meticulous records, so I know exactly what I spend. My RV is in good shape and well maintained. It's old, it's used and I love it. I spend some here and there to upgrade a few things now and then. It's a helluva lot cheaper than making payments (my little old RV is paid for).

I live very comfortably, but I have a ying and yang to enjoying a lot more with a lot less money. I've been to 17 states and oodles of campgrounds and sightseeing. I don't bother with eating out except as a rare treat, I cook up healthy foods at home. I don't get out and run around in a car every day, I don't own a car, don't tow one. It saves me a bloody fortune. I take my RV shopping and sightseeing between campground stops.

While workamping, I combine a shopping trip with sightseeing. While a car might get better MPG, I am able to take my kitchen with me and not be forced to spend money in restaurants for the day. Plus the dog gets to go everywhere with me and that is fun for both of us. Instead of worrying about 10 tires and 2 engines, I just have the one engine and 6 tires and no extra insurance and maintenance costs by having a toad.

I am not of retirement age, but who says I have to wait to have fun? I am having my fun NOW.

I do walking and photography. You see so much more walking around than racing by at 70mph.

I've been spotted shopping in used charity shops and skipping meat purchases at the grocery store. But I've had an absolute BLAST and wouldn't trade the last two years for anything. Being single I spend the same on gas and camping fees as couples, so basically if a 2nd person was with me, there would be extra food and their personal expenses (clothes, toiletries) but it certainly wouldn't be double the cost.

I've got tons of health issues and no insurance coverage. I went alternative, changed my diet to healthy, relied on herbs and exercise after doing a mountain of research. I was on 17 medicines the docs said I needed for the rest of my life and now I am down to just ONE medicine, that I wish I could get rid of and probably will find a way. I don't even see the docs anymore. They want to kill me with drugs that were hurting my kidneys and liver, besides giving me loads of side effects I did not want, now I am off those dangerous poisons. Also they aren't dipping into my bank account anymore, I am not a slave to the drugstores and doctors and I love it.

None of my workamping gigs have paid any cash, just free camping. But I am happy and loving life. One thing about living in a small RV, you don't have room to shop for junk. Even my wardrobe is efficient though year round, ready for hot or cold. Most of it was bought at used shops, some with new tags still attached even the price was way cheap. If you run into me in public in a beautiful dress, how do you know whether I got it at a used shop or paid top dollar for it? I have a compact washing machine, so I can pretty much wash as often as needed and therefore don't need a walkin closet full of clothes.

One thing is you have to always be setting aside money for RV maintenance and surprises. If you are worried about living off $35,000 a year then start keeping records of every penny spent so you can see exactly where your money is going, then you can adjust your expenses to more closely resemble your goals.

I wanted to fulltime in my RV now, not later, so I was willing to find a way to do it.

If you are worried about living off $35,000 a year then start keeping records of every penny spent so you can see exactly where your money is going, then you can adjust your expenses to more closely resemble your goals.

I wanted to fulltime in my RV now, not later, so I was willing to find a way to do it.

Good luck and have fun!

That might be some of the most important and succinct advice anybody could get when setting out to full time. You can change that dollar figure, but the general advice is still clear - what you cannot measure, you cannot manage.

If we had 35 grand a year to live on we'd be in hog's heaven. We live on my SS and it is no where near what most others here have coming in monthly/annually. I am on oxygen and thank goodness it is covered by the VA or I'd be SOL when it comes to breathing. Who is going to hire an old guy toting an O2 tank??

Margie can't work and as yet to qualify for disability. We're working on that, but who knows when and if she will get it.

We still say follow your dreams or you will go to the grave with regrets.

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May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. ~Edward Abbey

I haven't given up on this lifestyle yet and lived on a lot less than 1/2 of what you have as I'm single. I may have to give up this lifestyle as the heart attack last March has robbed my ability to do much for work. Oh' I do have a co-pay VA health plan which covered that expense. I survived and I'm still 9 months away from my early retirement for SS. I've applied for SSI and SSDI; but they are slower than molasses in Winter. I have lived in an RV since 1994 with a brother, since 1998 in my own. I would not give back a minute of this lifestyle to go live in The Ritz!! I am struggling on with the help of a few Samaritans. Also learning to live on a healthier diet and hope one day soon I can get off this heart medication which has too many side-effects. Being on(Plavix) blood thinners causes concerns of getting cuts; bruise much easier and the slightest bump hurts more. Statins cause muscle and joint pain for me and also have the tendency to harm ones liver and kidneys, Oh; and good ole Aspirin, 35 mg causes blood thinning, possible stomach ulcers; etc. LIVING ON A WHIM AND A LOT OF PRAYER. Irover

I am on SSD, and have no debt, and would not hesitate one bit to go full-time in RV. In fact I intend to in about 30 days. However, if your looking for an additional income, I would suggest some type of sales, a product that can be sold at a reasonable price and give you a little commission. You can have several products or you can sell a bigger ticket item that pays a bigger commission. Those are usually "1099" positions though...I am working out details with a company that I bought my hydrogen hybrid kit from....LOL...I have sold at least 10 units for them, and not because I was trying...but because I have one on my MH and when they find out I get 24mpg....they go and buy one...lol...I should get paid for it! I would say, pick a product, one that you can have readily available and use your self.....it will sell itself when you show people what you have....then make a commission....